


breathless

by baecobz



Series: in every universe [1]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Office, Crushes, Fluff, Getting Together, M/M, Mark is whipped, Pining, lapslock, yukhei alternates between being a confident and worried gay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-19
Updated: 2018-05-19
Packaged: 2019-05-08 21:20:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14702553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/baecobz/pseuds/baecobz
Summary: mark's not jealous of yukhei. he's not upset at him or frustrated with him oranything.in fact, the elder could probably steal his job and rob him of his life savings, and mark would only be able to blink and say, "oh, thanks."





	breathless

**Author's Note:**

  * For [leekuanlin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/leekuanlin/gifts).



> hello!! this is my first nct fic and of course its for soonhee :') im gonna be writing a bunch of markhei drabbles daily for an indefinite amount of time so please anticipate that!!  
> quick warning: i literally wrote all of this just now and havent looked thru it too much so i rlly hope its okay!!  
> ive also nvr written anything w this kinda work environment before? so its all based off of a job i had at a psych practice,, hopefully its easy to follow!!

mark prided himself on three things: his loyalty, his linguistic abilities, and his ability to write and submit a business proposal in record time.

enter wong yukhei, and suddenly his loyalty’s the only special thing about him.

(honestly, he probably doesn’t even have that- yukhei’s only been at the office for a few weeks, but he’s already proven himself to be a tried and true Good Friend.)

the worst part of it all?

mark’s not even jealous. a little insecure, maybe, but he knows that yukhei is by all means perfect. he’s tall, gorgeous, and better than mark in every way. mark is fluent in two languages? well, yukhei can speak at least four, and manages to casually bring in snippets during his daily conversations. mark can write a killer draft? yukhei can write something even better, and already have it submitted and approved before mark can even print his out.

and the part that really gets mark- yukhei is just  _ stunning _ . mark knows that part of the recognition he gets himself is a result of how hard you can see him working. yukhei, on the other hand, gets recognition purely because he does  _ so much _ work, and yet he does it all with a loud laugh and a snap of his wrist.

it’s effortless, as is everything else about him; the image of yukhei waving off help and beaming against the sunset still ingrained into his memory.

“stop daydreaming.”

mark blinks back into reality just in time to see donghyuck snorting at him, hip leaning against mark’s desk.

“hyuck? what’s up?” he leans back in his chair in an attempt to look casual. it’s a mistake, since it gives him a great view of yukhei smiling by the water cooler, and he quickly sits forward again. donghyuck laughs even harder.

“just wanted to remind you to stop drooling so much. we can’t have you ruining the papers that mr prince charming so kindly wrote for the department chair.”

“of course not.” mark rolls his eyes, managing to elbow donghyuck in the ribs before the younger is shuffling away. it doesn’t do anything to stop him from laughing, so mark tacks on, “suck my dick, hyuck!”

another thing yukhei is better at? knowing when to be loud.

mark nearly slams his head on his desk out of pure embarrassment when half of their coworkers glance towards him at his brief outburst; he’s lucky that they’re all close enough to laugh it off, but the sight of yukhei giggling over his red face just makes his cheeks burn even brighter.

he spends the rest of his lunch break pretending not to see yukhei glancing over at his direction, smile wide on his ridiculously handsome face.

//

that ridiculously handsome face comes all too close just a few days later, and it takes every bit of mark’s willpower to smile and stay professional when yukhei looks down at him with a gentle curve of his lips.

“so,” yukhei smiles, casually reaching out to rest his (big) hand on mark’s thigh.

frankly, it was easy for mark to forget how large everything about yukhei was- as much as his voice resonated against the office walls and file cabinets, he exuded such warmth and familiarity that he felt cozy, small. ever since their initial meeting, wherein mark had shook yukhei’s hand and promptly gone awestruck at the size difference, mark had mostly forgotten how big yukhei’s hands were compared to his own.

that brings him to his current dilemma.

they’re sitting on the couch together, just relaxing in the rec room while the coffee machine whirs to life; mark had gotten to work early, and had found himself lounging around and savoring the few extra minutes he had to simply  _ breathe _ . yukhei had gotten there only a few minutes later, making himself all too comfortable in the spot next to mark. (his smile had only widened when mark gave him an awkward wave in response.) he’s always touchy with people, mark had noticed, but mark’s not used to it being directed towards him, in such unashamed gestures of affection. “how’s it going, mark?”

“uh, not bad?” his voice cracks, and it’s like the entire universe just wants to mortify him in front of the cutest guy on the planet. of course. “how are you?”

“not bad.” yukhei repeats, hand still burning against mark’s too-thin slacks. yukhei tilts his head to the side, eyes as bright as ever even though the sun has barely risen, “i don’t mean to pry, but are you and donghyuck, like, a thing?” mark gapes back at him. “sorry man, i was just curious. i feel like i don’t know much about you.” he laughs it off well enough, but mark’s few brain cells are still trying to comprehend the idea that he and donghyuck seem like a couple. they’ve gotten questions and comments like that before, but when it comes from  _ yukhei _ , it feels a little uncomfortable. mark knows that yukhei’s far out of his league, but he still can’t help but hope that the other knows he’s fully available.

“no.” he chokes out eventually, and he’s sure he must be blushing by now, thanks to both the raised eyebrow yukhei gives him, as well as the hand still rubbing circles against his leg.

“no, what?” the look yukhei gives him is patient, too warm for mark to handle, and he nearly runs off at the sight of it. he’s not used to being looked at like that.

“hyuck and i. we’re not-- we’re just friends. we’re not like that.”

“so, another random question- do you have a boyfriend?” mark jolts back automatically, and yukhei raises his hands with a forced laugh. “sorry, too personal?”

“no, it’s okay. i just wasn’t expecting that.” mark scratches the back of his neck awkwardly, eyes stuck on the spot where yukhei’s hand had been just moments earlier. his leg feels feathery light now, as though he could drift away and out the window if yukhei didn’t hold him down. “i’m- i don’t have a boyfriend. or girlfriend. or anything.”

“good to know.” yukhei pats his thigh again, lightly, and mark almost sighs at the contact. “i’m single too, just to throw that out there.” he laughs, charming as ever. mark’s heart squeezes at the sound.

“uh.” mark squeaks. yukhei grins, but it’s not his usual  _ i’m perfect and beautiful and my existence alone makes everyone happier  _ grin, but instead his more rare  _ i just learned something interesting and now i’m going to use it to mess with you _ grin. in his head, mark is screaming in panic. in reality, he’s sitting there in fear, just… sweating.

“i’m surprised you’re single, though. i bet there are just lines of people waiting to ask you out.” yukhei’s hand finds its way back to mark’s thigh, this time thankfully closer to his knee. mark can feel the blood rush to his ears, the tips warming under a telltale blush. “aw, see? when you blush like that, you look so cute! how can someone  _ not  _ fall for you?”

mark ducks his head, mumbling complaints under his breath, but yukhei only takes the chance to move his arm around mark’s shoulders instead, pulling mark close against his side. the action makes mark falter, and yukhei laughs.

“can you come get me when the coffee’s done? i want to get a head start on some paperwork.” mark nods abruptly, too happy to get some space from the older after what felt like hours of heart palpitations. yukhei gives his shoulder one last squeeze before making his way out of the room, humming pop tunes under his breath.

he’s a little cute, maybe, but by the time mark’s brain catches up, he can’t even deny the flickers of the crush long past growing in his lungs.

just as he regains feelings in his fingers (he hadn’t realized he’d been wringing them together until yukhei had long since left), yukhei sticks his head back in the room, goofy grin still painted wide across his cheeks.

“hey, mark, before i chicken out- can i ask you something?”

“uh, sure?” he sits up a little straighter, throat catching at the sight of yukhei shuffling forward, smile never leaving his lips.

“are you free this saturday? i kinda want to take you out on a date.”

“a date.” mark repeats in a whisper. yukhei nods, and although his expression hasn’t changed, there’s a hint of what looks like apprehension in the tremor of his smile. “fuck, i mean-- yeah, okay. i’d really like that.”

“okay.”

“okay?”

“maybe okay will be our always.”

“oh my god, i take it back, i’m not going out wi--”

“wait, no! no, you can’t take it back, just pretend i didn’t say anything.” yukhei mimics zipping his lips shut and mimes throwing out the key. mark rolls his eyes and pretends his heart doesn’t soar at the sparkle in yukhei’s eyes. “i’ll text you?”

“you might need my number for that.” mark points out quietly. he expects yukhei to nod, to ask for his number or hold his own phone out, but instead yukhei forces out a laugh.

“uh, i may have asked around for your number already? and gotten it from taeyong? i swear i was going to text you, but i could never think of what to say, so i just… didn’t. sorry.”

mark has to bite his tongue to keep from laughing, because yukhei’s so cute his heart’s going to burst but he can’t die before they go on a date, so.

“wait a second,” mark frowns, eyebrows furrowed together, “taeyong said he gave someone my number like  _ weeks _ ago. was that you?”

“uh,” yukhei says, “would it be a good or bad thing if it was?”

“depends on why you asked for it.”

“and what if it was because i thought you were cute?” yukhei leans against the doorway in an obvious ploy to look casual and cool, but he just looks awkward and confused with his arm pressed against the frame, and somehow that makes him look even better. more attainable, maybe, but still beautiful as ever.

“in that case, i’d say it’s a good thing. i’d expect an extra special first date, though.”

“noted.” yukhei grins at him, and mark finds himself grinning back without having to worry about breathing. of course, yukhei’s expression still catches mark’s heart off guard, but it’s also pleasant and time-stopping at the same time. he supposes he wouldn’t mind being breathless for the rest of his life if it meant yukhei always beaming back at him like that.

**Author's Note:**

> okay quick fun facts:  
> -mark and hyuck both had internships at the company and ended up as full time workers after they graduated uni  
> -ten is the only one capable of making good coffee via the coffee machine, but mark refuses to admit it  
> -yukhei transferred to the seoul branch bc he wanted to visit korea and spontaneously decided to just. live there for a bit  
> i lov markhei So Much so uhhh if u also think theyre cute then come talk to me on [twitter](http://twitter.com/woo6in) or send me stuff/ideas on [curiouscat](http://curiouscat.me/6woojin) !!  
> huge huge thank u for reading!! any kudos/bookmarks/comments make my day <33


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